Seema Malhotra | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific | |
| Assumed office 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Catherine West |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities | |
| Assumed office 8 October 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Stuart Andrew |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship | |
| In office 9 July 2024 – 6 September 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Tom Pursglove (Legal Migration and Border) |
| Succeeded by | Mike Tapp |
| Shadow Minister for Skills | |
| In office 5 September 2023 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Toby Perkins |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers | |
| In office 14 May 2021 – 5 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Lucy Powell |
| Succeeded by | Justin Madders (Business) Jeff Smith (Consumers) |
| Shadow Minister for Employment | |
| In office 9 April 2020 – 14 May 2021 | |
| Leader | Keir Starmer |
| Preceded by | Mike Amesbury |
| Succeeded by | Andy McDonald |
| Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 13 September 2015 – 26 June 2016 | |
| Leader | Jeremy Corbyn |
| Preceded by | Shabana Mahmood |
| Succeeded by | Rebecca Long-Bailey |
| Shadow Minister for Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls | |
| In office 24 August 2014 – 13 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband Harriet Harman (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Sarah Champion |
| Member of Parliament forFeltham and Heston | |
| Assumed office 15 December 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Alan Keen |
| Majority | 7,944 (20.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1972-08-07)7 August 1972 (age 53) Hammersmith, London, England |
| Political party | Labour Co-op |
| Spouse | |
| Residence(s) | The Vale, Chelsea, London, England |
| Alma mater | University of Warwick Aston University |
| Website | Official website |
Seema Malhotra (born 7 August 1972)[1] is a British politician who has served asParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities since 2024,[2] and as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office since 2025.[3] A member ofLabour Co-op, she has been theMember of Parliament (MP) forFeltham and Heston since2011. She previously sat on the opposition front bench as theShadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, Shadow Minister for Employment and a shadowHome Office minister.
One of five children of Sushil Kumar Malhotra (1941–2014), ofOsterley, a shop owner, formerly a financial adviser and an engineer, and his wife Usha,[4] Malhotra was educated at schools in theLondon Borough of Hounslow, studied politics and philosophy at theUniversity of Warwick and took a postgraduate degree in business and information studies atAston University.[5]
OfIndianPunjabiHindu descent,[6] Malhotra is a formermanagement consultant who worked forAccenture andPriceWaterhouseCoopers.[7] She founded theFabian Women's Network, and was a previous National Chair of theYoung Fabians.[8]
Malhotra was the Labour candidate for theSouth West constituency in the2004 London Assembly elections, coming third with 17% of the vote.
WhileLabour was in government before 2010, she worked as an adviser toLiam Byrne andIan Austin when they were regional ministers for theWest Midlands. FollowingGordon Brown's resignation as Labour leader in the wake of the2010 general election, she was the special adviser toHarriet Harman during her tenure asLeader of the Labour Party.[7]
Malholtra entered Parliament in December 2011, on majority of 6,203 in theFeltham and Heston by-election, which increased in 2015 and in 2017, to reach 15,603 votes.[7][9][10][11]
In August 2014,Ed Miliband appointed Malhotra to the newly created role of Shadow Minister for PreventingViolence Against Women and Girls.[12] The role earmarked Malhotra to be among Labour'sHome Office ministers if the party became elected to power. In this she took up identifying problems, finding solutions and reviewing funding decisions as to crime prevention, prosecution and victim support in cases of rape,sexual assault,domestic violence,female genital mutilation,forced marriage, prostitution andtrafficking.
On 13 September 2015, Malhotra was appointedShadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury inJeremy Corbyn'sshadow cabinet. On 26 June 2016, Malhotra resigned from the shadow cabinet over the leadership, along withdozens of other shadow ministers.[13][14] She supportedOwen Smith in his failed bid to replace Corbyn in the2016 Labour Party (UK) leadership election.[15]
Following her resignation, Malhotra formally complained to theSpeaker of the House of Commons about aides to Corbyn and McDonnell gaining unauthorised access to her office after her resignation and "harassment" of her staff.[16]John McDonnell's explanation was that the office was a shadow Treasury team office which Malhotra was moving out of, and his office manager who was a key holder, after seeing boxes outside, went in to check if it was now empty.[17] After an investigation, the Speaker concluded there was no information which justified regarding the events as a possible breach ofParliamentary privilege.[16]
In 2017, Malhotra set up a local charity, Hounslow's Promise, to give local children the best possible start in life, which she continues to run.[18]
In June 2018, Malhotra voted in favour of theNational Policy Statement: Airports which laid out government support for a third runway, and was not among the 28 of 46 London Labour MPs opposing the runway.[19]
FollowingKeir Starmer's election as Labour leader in April 2020, Malhotra returned to the front bench as the Shadow Minister for Employment in the shadow work and pensions team. In this role, she highlighted the impact of Covid-19 lockdown on aviation communities.[20] In addition, she convened a "Blue Skies" conference to secure the future of West London's aviation sector and "to draw up an ambitious and far-sighted blueprint for the future of aviation."[21] She continues to co-chair the London West Innovation District, which aims to produce innovation clusters in West London for aviation, creative industries, and tech.[22]
She was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers in the minorMay 2021 reshuffle, succeedingLucy Powell in the role.[23] In the2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Skills and Further Education.[24]
She was appointed Minister for Migration and Citizenship following Labour's victory in the July 2024 election.[1] On 10 September 2024 she announced the imposition of a visa requirement for Jordanian citizens to enter the UK, in order to prevent refugees from that country from claiming asylum.[2]
She is a vice president of theFabian Society.[25]
Malhotra is married to management consultant and financier Sushil Kumar Saluja, who wasAccenture’s Senior Managing Director for Financial Services in Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America, and serves on the board ofTheCityUK which is an industry body that promotes financial services in the UK.[6][26] They live onThe Vale, Chelsea in a property valued at £9,775,000.[27][6] Prior to serving as an MP, it was reported that Malhotra used the name 'Malhotra-Suma';[5] the 2017 Election poll results state her name to be 'Seema Malhotra-Saluja (known as Seema Malhotra)'.[28][29]
She is the founder and Director of the Fabian Women's Network. [...]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of theFabian Society 2005–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theFabian Society 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theYoung Fabians 1999–2000 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forFeltham and Heston 2011–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
